To the Editor:

As the day honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. approaches, I’ve been thinking about how his fight to secure equal rights for all Americans impacted my own profession of medicine.  My research led me to find that even Dr. King stood on the shoulders of giants, including a few noteworthy physicians.

Just a few months ago, the grave of America’s first African American physician was identified in New York. Dr. James McCune Smith (1813-1865) was not only a skilled physician; he was a well-known teacher and a leader in the anti-slavery movement. I am proud to note that another African American medical luminary has Illinois ties. Dr. David J. Peck (1826-1855), the first African American physician to graduate from an American medical school, graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago in 1847.  A century later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement, which opened up educational opportunities African Americans and others who had never before experienced equal access to the American dream.

As we enter a new decade, disparities in the physician workforce are shrinking, but many demographics are still underrepresented. Currently, only 4.6 percent of American doctors are African American and 6.4 percent are Hispanic/Latino. If the physician population mirrored the general population, these figures would be nearly three times higher.

It is encouraging that our medical schools are enrolling more diverse classes than ever before. Kudos to the University of Illinois, which is in the top three of medical schools to produce the most new African American physicians and is among the top four  for educating new Hispanic/Latino doctors.

With dire projections confronting us for physician workforce shortages, especially in the area of primary care, the medical community must reach out to talented young people from all walks of life. We can help them realize they are needed and that a career in medicine is something that can be attained through hard work, dedication and a personal commitment to excellence – qualities that defined Dr. King’s life and work.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Malkin, MD, FACP
President, Illinois State Medical Society